Farmer leaders representing the Godavari and Krishna delta regions have submitted a petition to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, seeking changes in the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, 2014 pertaining to the status of the Indira Sagar Project.
A delegation of the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Karyacharana Samithi (APRKS) has said that the Indira Sagar Project was mentioned as an irrigation project in the Act regardless of the fact that it was designed as a multi-purpose dam.
“If it (meaning Indira Sagar Project) is treated as an irrigation dam alone, the provision for generation of 960 MW of hydropower by harnessing the river waters will be lost forever,” said Akkineni Bhavani Prasad, a spokesman of the APRKS.
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As a result, he said, it would have an adverse impact on the industrial growth in the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh and sought amendments to the Act allowing the hydro power generation to be one of the stated objectives of the project.
The APRKS urged the Governor to get the process of merging the project-affected villages from Khammam district with Andhra Pradesh initiated before June 2, the appointed day. Driving the point home, the delegation recalled how the Bhadrachalam division was clubbed with Telangana region by the then State government in 1959 through an administrative order. The merger could be carried out now in a similar manner by treating the earlier one as a precedent, the peasant leaders insisted and expressed regret that the merger remained a non-starter even after division of the State. The peasant leaders also sought to include four more mandals in addition to the seven mandals listed for merger with A.P. from Bhadrachalam revenue division.
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